With Aaron Rodgers under center http://www.packerscheapshoponline.com/cheap-authentic-geronimo-allison-jersey , the Green Bay Packers’ defense simply had to be passable. For too many seasons over the last decade, it simply hasn’t been, leading to calls for Dom Capers’ job that grew so loud they became almost a parody of themselves. Mike Pettine’s arrival came with expectations muted. He didn’t have to make this Green Bay group the 2009 Jets, just make sure they weren’t the 2011 or 2016 Packers. Play-to-play the defense wasn’t actually that bad in 2017, but when they needed to get stops — on third down and in the red zone — this was the worst situational group in the league. Despite first-half failings against Washington and second-half issues in losing the lead to Minnesota, this Green Bay defense looks significantly improved. They’re the No. 1 blitz defense by opponent passer rating, a welcome change from the late Capers era where teams readily identified and blocked up pressure packages from the Packers. Pettine creates more confusion and will attack differently from the same look, confusing quarterbacks and offensive linemen with protection calls. But they’re not among league leaders in blitzes, which means they will have to find ways to create pressure with just four or five guys when they’re not blitzing. This, in particular, has been why teams have chosen to attack on first and second down to avoid the third-and-obvious situations. As Jason Hirschhorn pointed out earlier this week, the Packers have eaten on third-and-long all season and sit third in the league in third-down completion percentage defense by allowing just 51.3% of throws. That’s an enormous jump from last season when Green Bay gave up 64.8% of throws on third down, 31st in the league. In terms of total third down defenses, the Packers are just a touch below average, yet swung vertiginously in the rankings. Through four weeks, the defense ranks 18th in conversion percentage after finishing 30th a year ago. Going from “horrible” to “ehhh, we could be better” represents a critical shift and a positive trend. On the other hand, Pettine’s group leads the NFL in three-and-out percentage, meaning they get them at a higher rate than any team in the league. This keeps the defense fresh and gives the ball back to Aaron Rodgers.As you can probably guess, the Capers defense last season was one of the worst in football at forcing three-and-outs. This situational defensive improvements extends to the red zone as well, where the Packers got their first turnover in over a calendar year against the Bills on Sunday. Last season, Green Bay finished dead last in points allowed per red zone trip and second-last in touchdowns per trip. In 2018, the numbers won’t wow anyone, but they’re not horrible. That’s how low the bar is and luckily the Packers are clearing it. Through a quarter of the season, Green Bay ranks 17th in points per trip and 15th in touchdowns. This is the formula. Give Rodgers even just an average defense, get him the ball back after short offensive drives by the opponents Corey Linsley Jersey , and run the opposing defense ragged with drives of your own. The defense’s success compounds when Rodgers is able to score, forcing teams to throw more often and allowing Pettine to whip up his exotic blitz schemes. Incomplete on first down. Incomplete on second down. Now, it’s third-and-long and this defense is going hunting, where they’ve been the best team in the league. The coaching staff shouldn’t receive all of the credit for this change. New GM Brian Gutekunst went out and signed Tramon Williams to provide some stability at cornerback before drafting Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. The pair of rookies have played important roles already for this defense, and Alexander should really have two interceptions if not for the stupendously awful Clay Matthews roughing call. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix shook off a bad start to become a playmaker in the back end, and Kenny Clark took the step we thought he could make to being a full on, every down terror. For whatever concerns there are about this Packers offense, if the defense continues to play like this, Rodgers and Co. will get many more chances to get going, and history suggests eventually they will. When they do, this defense could get even better, which likewise boosts the offense. For the first time in what feels like forever, the Packers may be able to play complementary football.Packers’ third-and-short troubles marked a turning point against Minnesota There were an unlimited number of key moments in the Green Bay Packers’ 29-29 tie with Minnesota on Sunday that one could point back to as potentially game-clinching. In a frustrating game in which the Packers could not put the Vikings away, penalties, field goals, timeouts, and drops could be looked at as several deciding factors.But the true turning point of the ball game may have come in the form of short third down attempts in two possessions sandwiched around the end of the third quarter.The third down stats as a whole were not stellar for Green Bay. The defense surrendered a 50% conversion rate (7-14), while the offense earned a new set of downs on just four of 13 third-down opportunities. But a defense that had played impressively for a good chunk of three quarters could not make a stop when it needed to down the stretch, beginning with a Vikings drive that started with 3:19 to play in the third quarter.Leading 20-7, Green Bay forced Minnesota into two critical third-and-one situations on a drive that covered nine plays and 71 yards. On the first, the Vikings executed a perfect fullback hand-off up the gut with C.J. Ham for five yards to continue the drive. It was the kind of play that Packers fans have watched Green Bay run for years with John Kuhn and Aaron Ripkowksi with minimal success, but the Vikings converted. Four plays later in the same short-yardage situation, Kirk Cousins connected with Kyle Rudolph on a crossing route to the right that went for 23 yards as the quarter expired. The same play concept would burn the Packers throughout the second half, but possibly no more than on this drive.Just a few plays later, the inability to stop Minnesota on third down proved detrimental for the Packers as Cousins and Stefon Diggs connected on a three-yard touchdown pass on second-and-goal to narrow the gap to six points. It was not a third-down play, but one of the short-yardage goal line variety Davante Adams Jersey , as Diggs was run in motion several times across the line before finally accelerating up to full speed and catching a sideline pass that Tramon Williams had no chance to stop. It was that creative, Arena League type of play that helped the Vikings convert with ease against the Packers and pull back momentum.Meanwhile, on the very next possession for Green Bay, the Packers put together an impressive six-minute, 42-second drive that chewed the game clock all the way down to 7:35 remaining in the game. After gradually moving down to the Vikings’ 12-yard line, the Packers faced an important 3rd-and-2. Reaching the end zone on this drive would have significantly raised Green Bay’s chances of coming out victorious by giving the team a two-touchdown lead.After Minnesota crowded the box with eight defenders against the Packers’ one-back set (Ty Montgomery), Aaron Rodgers burned a timeout, evidently not seeing what he liked ahead of the pivotal snap. When Green Bay came back to the line, Rodgers lined up in the shotgun with Jamaal Williams to his left and Minnesota again stacked the box with seven defenders. Presumably yelling “kill” to call off a pass play in favor of a running call, Rodgers handed off to Williams who was stopped for a negative gain by an untouched, slanting-to-the-right Everson Griffen. Facing a 4th-and-3, the Packers were forced to settle for a 31-yard Mason Crosby field goal rather than six points.That proved costly, as Minnesota scored immediately on its next possession when Cousins hit Diggs for a 75-yard touchdown and again closed the gap, this time to just two points at 23-21. At this point, the Packers seemingly lost all hold on the game and the momentum.Offensively, could the Packers have been more creative on their own third-and-short plays much like how the Vikings employed Diggs? Could they have used a tight end crossing pattern of their own to put a large Jimmy Graham in space to move the sticks? It seemed to work on the very first play of their next drive with Graham darting across the middle, catching the ball, and hurdling a defender en route to a 16-yard gain. Maybe even the read option, which Rodgers tried to utilize in overtime, would have been a way to keep the Minnesota defense from guessing correctly on the fairly-predictable Williams run play.The Packers had a real opportunity to seal the game if even one of the three third down plays above had turned out differently. For the offense, one that has repeatedly failed in short-yardage downs the past several seasons, it was an all-too-familiar outcome on Sunday as it could not close the door on an opponent. For the Green Bay defense, it was a matter of situational defensive struggles that were seen far too often under Dom Capers. In the end, recurrent issues on third down contributed to the Packers coughing up a commanding lead and settling for a lucky tie with a divisional rival.